Three days she waited, plotting her escape. Now the time was here, Nessa didn’t know if she was strong enough to make it out on her own. Lack of food and water made her weak. But she had to try, she couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t safe.

When she first woke up in this dark dank cell three days ago, she thought she must be stuck in a nightmare. It wasn’t unusual for her to have this nightmare, but normally she woke up when the bad guys came for her. This time she hadn’t.

When the bad guys came for her, she had gone to sleep instead. Minding her own business as she made her way home from work late one night, two men and a woman had appeared out of nowhere. The men had grabbed hold of her arms so she couldn’t get away.

If Nessa had expected the woman to help her, then she had been sorely mistaken. Instead of helping, the woman blew some powder into her face that knocked her out cold within seconds. Later on, when she finally woke up, she found herself locked in this god-awful place.

The stench of rotting meat permeated the air. Scurrying sounds were constant as rodents ran rampant, not only around the building but the room she was occupying as well.

Every time her captors had brought her food it had been crawling with cockroaches. Nessa knew she needed the sustenance if she stood any chance in escaping, but no matter how hungry she was, she couldn’t bring herself to eat any of it.

It was bad enough drinking what passed for water around here. She was sure it was more mud than water, and the smell alone was enough to make anyone want to vomit. Pinching her nose whenever she had to drink any of it so she didn’t have to smell it at the same time, then fighting to keep it down when it wanted to come straight back up again.

There wasn’t much in the room she could use to aid her in escaping this place, but she would not let that stop her either. One way or another, she was getting out of here today.

The few items in the room she could choose from were a metal bed with a mattress that had seen far better days, a paper-thin pillow and a rough blanket. Plus, there was her personal favourite… a bucket in the corner of the room for her to use as a toilet. Yeah, it was definitely no five-star hotel.

When she had spotted the screws holding the bedposts in place, she could’ve jumped for joy. It was the perfect size and shape to use as a bat. And that’s exactly what she would use it as. Not wasting any time, she had set to work on one of the posts.

Choosing the post that was wedged in the corner so it wasn’t visible to the guards, she carefully pulled the bed out a little so she would have better access. Using her fingers and nails until they bled, she coaxed the screws loose with no one being the wiser about what she was doing.

Whenever she heard movement in the hallway, she quickly returned the bed to its original position as quietly as she could. The last thing she needed was for them to figure out what she planned before she had a chance to carry it through.

Finally, after days of trying, the last of the screws were out and the post was free. Now all she had to do was wait for the guards to return. All the hairs on her body stood on end as she listened to them walking past her door.

It was the same every day. Like clockwork, two guards walked along the corridor. Starting from the far end, they stopped at each room, handing out food and water to the occupants. Hers was somewhere around the middle. She didn’t know if every room had someone inside, and she didn’t know how many rooms there were, but she assumed that most did.

Ready to pounce the moment they opened the door, holding the metal post above her head, she didn’t hesitate when the first guard stepped inside. Swinging the metal post in a downward arch with all her strength, she whacked him on the top of his head. As he doubled over, she lifted her knee, connecting it with his face.

Ignoring the throbbing pain radiating from her knee where it made an impact with the guard’s face, she turned her attention to the other guard. It took the second guard a moment for it to sink in what had happened to his comrade, which gave her the advantage she was counting on.

Before he could react, she pulled back her arms and then swung the metal post straight into his face. Blood instantly squirted from his nose as the post made contact. When he lifted his hands to his face, she kneed him between the legs, dropping him instantly to the ground.

Nessa hit him over the head for good measure before grabbing the keys from where they landed on the floor and made her escape. Using the door to push the second guard further into the room, she quickly locked it behind her so they couldn’t follow her straight away.

She didn’t bother stopping at any of the other rooms. If she was going to get away before the others noticed she was missing, then she couldn’t stop to help anyone else. The best thing she could do for them now was to escape and get help.

With a rough idea of the layout of the building, she was as prepared as she was going to be. Sending up a silent prayer, she took a deep breath and crept along the corridor to the door at the far end.

 There was a stairwell on the other side of the door. She knew what was downstairs, it led further into the building and that was the last place she wanted to go. They had taken her down there not long after she arrived here.

Nessa shuddered at the memories of what they did to her while she was down there, she definitely didn’t want a repeat of that experience.

No, she wanted to go up. That was the only way she hadn’t been, at least not that she could remember, so she assumed that it was the way out. She didn’t even care if it took her to the roof, as long as she wasn’t in this building anymore. Nessa would shout for help from the rooftop if it came to it.

The door at the end of the corridor creaked as she opened it. Nessa froze, listening for any sounds. Only when she was certain no one heard it did she open the door further, just enough for her to squeeze through, then she closed it again as quietly as she could.

Making her way up the stairs, she listened intently for any sounds coming from either direction. Nessa didn’t bother stopping to look through each door on her way up the stairwell; she didn’t care what was behind them. It was only when she reached the top that she finally went through a door.

The bright sunlight blinded her momentarily. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around at an empty rooftop.

Typical, she thought, but at least I’m finally outside.

It may be a small victory, but she was going to take it as a good sign that nobody else was up here. Now

she just needed to find a fire escape to climb down.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she stepped outside, closing the door behind her. Nessa walked the perimeter of the building as she looked for the fire escape.

She sighed in relief when she found it. Even though it was only a few metal bars sticking out of the wall, it was still a way off this roof, and she was going to take anything she could to get away from this place.

Without a second thought, Nessa carefully maneuvered over the side of the building and climbed down the ladder. The cold metal bars, rusted with age, froze her bare hands and feet. Wishing she had more clothing on than just a pair of shorts and a vest top, she tried not to let the cold slow her down.

Reaching the bottom of the ladder, Nessa looked around to see which direction to go. All she could see was woodland. She couldn’t even see a road leading through the woods from where she stood.

Not letting that stop her, Nessa picked what she hoped was north, then raced off into the woods. Sooner or later she was bound to come across civilization. Nessa just hoped it was sooner rather than later.

With what little energy she had left in her, she didn’t think she would make it very far on foot.

Howling came from the building behind her, along with the sound of people shouting. They were trying to find her. She knew that it wouldn’t take them long to realize she had escaped and to send out a search party to find her, but she hadn’t thought it would be that

quick.

Digging deep, Nessa pulled up the last of her energy reserves and ran as fast as she could. Not expecting it to have much effect, she was surprised with the speed and agility she could pull off with what little energy she had left.

Before she knew it, she broke through the tree line and was next to a busy dual carriageway. She risked looking back to see if anyone was following her. She could just about make out movement in the woods as they headed in her direction.

With no time to spare, Nessa started waving down cars and shouting “Help!” as she walked backward along the side of the road. All the while she kept trying to gain more distance between her and the bad guys.

It seemed like forever before one car finally pulled over. She raced over to it, praying it wasn’t one of the bad guys. Luck was on her side for once as she looked through the open window and saw it was a little old lady behind the wheel.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“No, nowhere close to being okay, but I’m hoping you can help remedy that,” she said honestly. “Could you please give me a lift?”

“Of course,” the lady said with a smile.

“Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me,” Nessa said as she climbed in the car.

“Where would you like me to take you, dear?” the lady asked. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, could you drop me off at the closest police station please?” Nessa asked.

“Are you sure you don’t want a hospital?”

“I’m positive. Please, just the police station, as soon as possible.”

Nessa knew they were getting closer, and the longer she sat here talking, the more chance they had of catching her before she could truly get away.

The little old lady looked her over, concern showing on her face, but without another word, she put her foot down and they sped off.

Nessa looked back just in time to see the bad guys break through the tree line. She hoped they hadn’t seen her getting into the car.